Globes nominations buoy ‘Babel’

Pitt drama gets a bump at the box office

After leading the field at the Golden Globes nominations last week, Paramount Vantage’s “Babel” saw a healthy bump in biz: Pic’s receipts jumped 7% for the latest frame as it played in 220 runs to take an estimated $489,722.

Cume has hit $18.3 million after eight weeks of release, with its latest per-engagement average at $2,226.

Specialty pic distribs were eagerly awaiting the Globes noms in hopes of a B.O. boost.

“Babel” had played 1,251 playdates in its third and fourth frames at its widest point of release and then seemed to hit a roadblock at the B.O. But the film hung in to land seven Globes noms on Thursday, topping studio pics “The Departed” and “Letters From Iwo Jima.”

New Line suburban drama “Little Children” got a 4% bump after it nailed Globes noms for motion picture drama and actress in a drama (Kate Winslet).

Pic played to $78,000 in its 11th weekend, bringing cume to just over $2 million. It dropped three screens in the latest frame to unspool on 22.

Pic — which landed an actress nom for Penelope Cruz as well as a foreign pic nom — took in just under $295,000 off 44 screens for a per-engagement average of $6,555. Cume after seven weeks is $2.84 million.

Miramax’s “The Queen” also continued a solid run with help from its Globes attention, which includes an actress mention for Helen Mirren as well as a nom for drama.

The film dipped a slight 21.8% in its 12th week of release, adding $685,000 off 483 for a cume of $25.6 million.

But not all Globes nominees saw a B.O. bump.

MGM’s political pic “Bobby” landed a drama nomination but took in just $162,000 off 203 locations over the weekend for an anemic per-engagement average of $798.

Emilio Estevez-helmed film has taken in $10.8 million after five weekends in release.

MGM also saw so-so returns for its Iraq war drama “Home of the Brave,” which bowed on three screens in limited release. Pic played to $5,367 per engagement. “Home” nailed a Golden Globe nom for original song.

Shut out from Globes contention, Steven Soderbergh’s war drama “The Good German” bowed in platform release from Warner Bros. Pic played on five screens, taking in $78,600 for a rock-solid per-engagement average of $15,720.

Fox Searchlight’s “The History Boys” played 76 engagements, a jump of 26 from the previous frame. Bigscreen adaptation brought in $220,000 for a per-playdate average of $2,895.